Athletic shoes having soles with protruding cleats have long been used by athletes and "sportsters" to enhance the traction and position stabilization of the feet of the user. From early years, the athletic shoe cleats were configured as metal spikes, and eventually "soft spikes" (.e.g, made of synthetics such as hard nylons and plastic), that project downwardly from the soles of their shoes and into the soil of the field of play; and the spiked cleat was used in athletic shoes for sports as wide ranging as football, baseball, soccer and golf. Because the metal and synthetic cleats can wear down or break, the spiked cleats were eventually incorporated as part of a replaceable cleat system which included a plurality of threaded, metal screw bosses embedded into the sole of the shoe and into which the spikes, outfitted with a threaded stem, were threaded.
The traditional spiked cleats fulfilled the intended purpose of aiding in traction and position stabilization of the feet during the stationary swinging efforts of golf, as well as during encounters of opposition or in instances where enhancement of forward momentum was desirable. Eventually, with the aid of studies and research, it was determined that, while spiked cleats provide aggressive traction for sports such as football and baseball, not all sports require such radical traction. Furthermore, the value of the spiked cleat is being questioned even in the aggressive sports (such as football), where knee and other injuries are sometimes attributed to the overly aggressive "traction" of the elongated spiked cleats. Also, especially in the less aggressive sports, concern over the damage created by spiked cleats to the field of play and other surfaces is beginning to outweigh any traction benefits afforded by the spiked cleat.
One sport in which the concern for damage to surfaces has led to changing cleat designs is the sport of golf. In this sport of traditionally metal, spiked cleats, the tendency of metal spiked cleats to pit and deface surfaces such as concrete walks, wooden floors, and carpet is legendary. Spiked cleats also deface greens and fairways of golf courses, particularly in winter months.
In addition to problems associated with injuries and damage to surrounding properties, the traditional screw-in type of replaceable cleat shoe system has other problems associated with the metal screw bosses that are embedded in shoe soles for receiving cleats. One key problem is that the bosses tend to oxidize or rust over time because they are continuously exposed to moisture during wear. This makes it very difficult in some instances to remove an old cleat and replace it with a new cleat and, in extreme cases, can render the boss unusable. Another problem is that the metal screw bosses can become loose and dislodged within the latex rubber of shoe soles in which they are often embedded. When this happens, it becomes virtually impossible to remove an old cleat or install a new one because the affected screw boss simply spins inside the latex in which it is encased upon attempts to thread or unthread a cleat.
Presently, in many sports, including golf, alternatives to the spiked cleat (both metal and synthetic) are available. Such alternatives include the elimination of cleats of any kind and replacing cleated sole with soft, raised treads. Other alternatives have chosen to retain the cleat concept while eliminating the undesirable "spike"; and one example of such an alternative cleat is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,129. Furthermore, it is not unknown in the art to at least provide a synthetic screw boss in athletic shoes--see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,038.
In spite of prior art efforts, there remain challenges and problems for which improvements are useful; and the present invention is intended to address some of those challenges and problems.